The invention relates to an apparatus for cooling a glove compartment in a motor vehicle. Such an apparatus is known from DE-OS 37 39 151, which describes a vehicle cooling box positioned in a glove compartment. This cooling box is cooled by means of an air inlet, which is connected to the cold air outlet of the air conditioner of an air conditioning unit located in the vehicle. The cooling box has an air outlet for the escape of the air which has flowed through the cooling box. It has a trough-like construction and on the vehicle instrument panel above a glove compartment folding shutter is provided a cover, which closes the top of the cooling box when the folding shutter is closed. This known cooling box can only be used in a vehicle, which already has an air conditioning system.
DE-OS 30 19 092 also discloses a small electric cooler for a drinks or beverage container with Peltier elements, which is in thermal contact with its cold surface for a corresponding flow direction with a heat conducting element located in the thermally insulated interior, so that said element is constructed as a top-open cup with an inside dimension suitable for the positive reception of the larger lower part of standard beverage containers. The cold side of the Peltier block is connected to a finned heat exchanger enabling air to be blown into the cooling box for cooling purposes by means of a fan.
DE-OS 36 39 089 discloses a thermoelectric cooling device, particularly for motor vehicle cooling boxes, with a thermoelectric cold generator comprising at least one Peltier block. The hot side of this Peltier block is in heat conducting contact with a first heat exchanger through which flows a forced coolant. The cold side of the cold generator is in heat conducting connection with a second heat exchanger constructed as a finned heat exchanger for cooling a forced circulated medium, which is passed through a flow duct in the vicinity of the ribbed heat exchanger and whose full cross-section is received by the latter. A liquid coolant flows through the first heat exchanger and is forced circulated in a liquid circuit and is provided with a third heat exchanger in the form of an air/liquid heat exchanger for cooling the liquid coolant.